


Dinner

by Echelon



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Citadel, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-02
Updated: 2013-04-02
Packaged: 2017-12-07 06:23:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/745310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Echelon/pseuds/Echelon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shepard tries to find the courage to ask a very important question to his beloved Kaidan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dinner

**Author's Note:**

> This work contains spoilers for "Mass Effect 3: Citadel." READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

Commander Shepard looked out the window of the apartment at the Armax Arsenal Combat Arena just across the strip, although not really seeing it. While his eyes scoped the holographic lettering of the building, his mind was combing the bulge of the right pocket of his favorite jacket: an N7-themed black cotton hooded jacket that harkened back to 20th and 21st century fashion. Reaching his callused hand into the pocket, he pulled out what it so contained: a black velvet case that contained one of the most special purchases he hoped he would ever make. 

As his fingers unconsciously stroked the soft velvet, Shepard thought about the man the contained was intended for. He had known the man for a few years now, but only recently did he realize he had deep feelings for him. A few weeks ago, Shepard got to sit down with him at Apollo Café on the Presidium so they could relax and talk over lunch and drinks. Before they gave themselves the chance to order, his love said something that made Shepard realize that he loved him too. 

_“Maybe what I never found or what I want is something deeper with someone I already care about.”_

Those words still echoed through Shepard’s mind, every day since that wonderful day. Even in the middle of the galactic war they were all facing, his mind flashed to the smile that his love made when Shepard said very warmly, “You and me…I like that…I like that a lot.” 

Shepard knew he had put it so lightly then; he was so overcome with emotion within that it was all he could say. He didn’t just like it; he loved it. Hell, he craved it since their first mission together against Saren and the geth, which would evolve into a war with the Reapers a few years later. Shepard loved him, and it had taken him this long—and nearly losing him against a Cerberus synthetic on Mars early in the war—to realize it. Seeing him lay unconscious and battered in the hospital shook Shepard’s heart; he was scared of losing him. He had lost so much already: he never knew his parents from Earth, he lost his entire squad to thresher maws on Akuze, and nearly lost his own life to a Collector attack. For years, he had known the fear of losing, and it terrified him so much that he was afraid to open up to people. Yet being on the Normandy changed him; he realized he needed people in his life, friends. 

And friends he had, a colorful entourage of them: Alliance soldiers, a turian ex-cop, a krogan mercenary now clan leader, a perky but loyal quarian, and the list went on and on. Most might see his circle of friends as a zoo of different alien species, but Shepard could blast any such comment more than his shotgun could. All the friends and colleagues he met on the way were instrumental to get him to where he was today. He could not imagine his life without a single one of them. 

He couldn’t imagine his life without the love of his life either. His mind returned to the velvet box, and his heart began to race. He had things planned out for tonight, but his heart quivered at the thought of it. Was it too soon? With the Reapers here, maybe there wasn’t a “too soon.” Would he say “yes?” He imagined he would, he hoped he would. What if he didn’t? Shepard felt his heart skip at the thought. The man who stared down a Reaper was intimidated by a possible answer to a question. The man upstairs had to be laughing at Shepard about this.

A chime at the door snapped his attention back to reality. Shepard’s eyes snapped towards the door while a small smile etched itself on his stubbled-face: he’s here. His omni-tool lit up over his left arm as he typed a few commands to interface with the door’s computers. When it connected, a holographic screen popped up on his omni-tool, revealing who was at the door. “Hey Kaidan, you’re early.”

The man—Kaidan—smiled. “Well, I think I have a good reason to be here early, I hope.”

Shepard’s teeth shone in the light as his grin grew more dominant. “Come on in; it’s open.” Jamming the velvet box deep into his pocket, he turned towards the kitchen in the middle of the apartment to wait for Kaidan to come in. He tried to calm his mind down enough so he could at least speak without tripping over his thoughts about tonight. This was probably the only thing he hated about relationships: it made him more nervous than a hamster on red sand. Thank God it was worth it and so much more.

The front door slid open, permitting Kaidan to come in, carrying a shopping bag full of presently unidentifiable things. As he did, Shepard loved every part of him: his dark hair gathered at the top, his chocolate eyes, and it all came upon the most gorgeous assembly that the masculine side of humanity could offer. Thank the Maker…literally. Kaidan smiled as he saw Shepard; he could tell that Shepard was admiring the view. “Like what you see, Shepard?”

“Always, Kaidan.” Shepard leaned against the buffet cabinet. “Makes me feel so damn lucky that I finally realized that you were the one person in this galaxy that I was missing.”

Kaidan had to look away. “Please, Shepard; you’ll make me blush. I’m just glad we were able to take some time together before the big party for everyone, you know.”

Shepard’s head leaned back as he remembered the massive preparations he—along with Liara’s VI assistant Glyph—was busy trying to assemble. “Yeah, and I need a break from that. Hell, I’m not even sure I’ll ever be a good host.”

“Well, considering the kind of parties you bring us into nearly on a daily basis, I think you’ll do fine.”

“Well, thank you for the vote of confidence.” Shepard stood back up on his feet. “So, how are you feeling?”

“Starving,” Kaidan said abruptly. “What do you got?”

Shepard frowned. Did Kaidan forget? “I thought we were heading out, Kaidan.”

Kaidan didn’t seem bothered by Shepard’s concern. In fact, he seemed ready for it. Walking up towards Shepard, he said, “Well, we’ll just end up back here anyway, am I right?” 

Shepard’s and Kaidan’s face were inches from each other, each one could feel each other’s breath. It was wonderful. Leaning in closer, they shared the smallest of kisses. Even that was electrifying. As they withdrew, Shepard sighed warmly as a smile returned to his face. _“Damn you, Kaidan. You are just too cute to argue with,”_ he thought. Aloud, he said. “Well…when you put it that way…”

Kaidan took that as incentive. “Good, because despite how good Apollo’s is or sounds, I’m kind of sick of it at the moment.”

Shepard looked back at Kaidan, and for the first time began wondering what was in the bag. “Well, if that was a problem, I can find somewhere else to go. I hope you don’t have hopes for sushi though…”

Kaidan smiled at the mention of sushi. Earlier that week, Shepard had accidentally smashed up the nearby sushi place when being pursued by a mercenary group out to kill him. Shepard had fallen through the fish tank and several stories down, miraculously surviving. It had been a rough week, and this party they were planning was their way of cooling off from that as well as the war against the Reapers. “No, don’t worry about that.” Placing the bag on the cabinet, he walked past Shepard towards the stove. “Actually, I was hoping I could cook us dinner tonight.”

Shepard’s gaze followed Kaidan behind him and to the stove. “Wait… _you’re_ going to cook?”

Kaidan looked at Shepard. “Come on, what’s that supposed to mean?”

Shepard crossed his arms, looking at the bag near him. “So, you want me to, what, sit there and watch?”

Kaidan laughed. “You’re not going to watch me cook; you’re going to help me drink beer. Now sit your ass down and let me treat you for once.” Kaidan began digging around in the cabinets. “Wow, Anderson kept this well-stocked, didn’t he?”

Shepard wasn’t sure how he felt about allowing Kaidan to cook, but he supposed it had to happen sometime. Looking at the bag, he began digging through it to see what surprise Kaidan brought with him. “I wouldn’t know; haven’t really took the time to take inventory of the cabinets.”

Kaidan pulled out a couple of pans. “Well, with the party less than a week away, you might want to start now. Unless you were planning to just get caterers to do everything.”

Shepard shrugged as his eyes combed the bag’s contents: steaks, garlic, olive oil, bacon... “What’s wrong with that?”

One of Kaidan’s thin eyebrows shot up as a bemused expression carved itself on his face. “Seriously, Shepard? Oh, I know you might want to go safe with food for Garrus and Tali, but I think this kitchen is more than capable to handle more home-cooked food for the party.” As he set the pans on the stove, he began to look thoughtful. “Huh, maybe I’m going to have to make more time with you so we can do something about that.”

Shepard’s mind conjured images of Kaidan’s slaving away at the stove to prepare enough food for the entire guest list. “Kaidan, this party is so you can relax. You don’t have to do anything. I can just call caterers and they can throw something—”

“Shepard, please,” Kaidan interrupted. “Just think of it as an excuse for us to be together beyond just work. I think you’d like that…I know I would.”

Shepard bit his lip; sometimes Kaidan’s logic was hard to argue with. Just another reason why he loved him. “Ok, fine, you win. I guess I could use the help.”

“Good,” Kaidan sighed, turning towards the fridge. “But for now, let me worry about dinner. You just sit back and I’ll take care of everything.” He withdrew a cold beer from the fridge and placed it on the stove where he hoped Shepard would sit.

Shepard took the hint and sat down on one of the bar stools next to the stove. He watched Kaidan busily assemble the utensils, fetch the ingredients and busily start chopping up the garlic. Shepard was impressed; he didn’t see Kaidan as the kind of person who would know how to cook, let alone have the dexterity he exhibited here. He wondered if it was learned, or just a small part of being an accomplished biotic. Looking at the ingredients again, he asked, “So, what exactly are you making? Some sort of Canadian delicacy?”

Kaidan looked at Shepard. “Uh…yeah, you could say that. We have steak, we have bacon…we have some really good beer. Yeah, it’s a delicacy; the food of my people.” Kaidan picked up his own beer bottle. “Wish me luck.”

Shepard and Kaidan struck each other’s bottles in a toast. “If you need luck, I’m screwed, am I?”

Kaidan opened his mouth wordlessly, and then said, “Hey, that hurt, Shepard.”

Shepard smiled, and took another sip of his beer. “I’m sure you’ll get over it.”

“Gee, thanks a lot.” Kaidan smiled himself. He knew Shepard was teasing. “Relax, it will be great.”

As Kaidan poured some olive oil into the pan, Shepard said, “Remember how I saved the Citadel, and then when I went on that suicide mission—you weren’t there—through the Omega-4 Relay? Yeah, all those close calls only to be taken out by steak.”

Kaidan shot Shepard a glance, but said nothing as he poured the minced garlic cloves into the olive oil.

Shepard heard the mixture sizzle as he continued. “Can it be at least quick and painless?”

“Yeah, very funny, Shepard,” Kaidan said. “You think I hauled your ass out of the fire only to kill you with poisoned dinner?”

Shepard shrugged. “You know who I just fought this week. Can’t be surprised by anything after that. And who said it had to be poisoned? Botulism is a hell of a tonic.”

“Huh,” Kaidan said. “Well, look for yourself. You seemed eager enough to look through the bag. So tell me what you think.” Kaidan picked up the pan with the marinade and leaned it enough for Shepard to see inside.

Shepard looked inside, and then at the steaks nearby. “We have hot sauce, right?”

Kaidan put the pan back on the burner. “Yeah, you’re being an ass now.”

Shepard smiled. “I’m sure you’ll do fine, Kaidan. If anything, you’re already impressing me with how dexterous you are with that knife. It’s almost scary.”

Now Kaidan smiled. “Well, don’t worry. The knife is only seeing the garlic. Don’t expect me to biotically fling it at you.”

Shepard blew his sigh out. “I hope I’m not going to have a nightmare from that image. I have nightmares enough as it is.”

At that, Kaidan sobered slightly. “Yeah, I understand that. With the amount of shit you’ve seen already in the past few years, you’re lucky to only have nightmares. Sorry if that doesn’t mean much to you.”

Shepard nodded. “No, I understand. It doesn’t make them any less nasty though.”

“I hear that.” Kaidan used a pronged knife to pick up the steaks and slap them into the pan. At once, they sizzled harshly. “Have you ever tried cooking, Shepard?”

“Funny you say that,” Shepard said as he leaned against the counter. “I had a roommate back at Arcturus who taught me how. He said that eating cafeteria crap 24/7 was bad for morale. Heck, back when the Normandy was still a Cerberus ship, we had a mess sergeant who did all the cooking, Rupert. Thank god I found some better ingredients for the ship; I don’t think I could keep stomaching his ‘chef’s surprise.’” 

Kaidan’s eyes widened at that statement. “I’ll just hope I never come across that ‘surprise.’”

“Pray you never will.”

“I’ll put that under advisement.” Kaidan then smiled. “Shepard, is there anything you can’t do?”

“Well, everyone else apparently seems to think I can’t dance,” Shepard said, smiling as he remembered Jack’s unabashed criticism of Shepard’s dancing at Purgatory a month ago. “Who knows? Maybe they’re right.”

“Really?” Kaidan said kindly. “Well, I think you might be pretty good at it.”

“I don’t know,” Shepard said softly. 

“Well, you’ll just have to show me at the party then, right?”

Shepard shrugged slightly, taking another sip of his beer. “We’ll see.” Standing up, he crossed over to be beside Kaidan as he chopped up some rosemary and onion. “So, where did you learn to cook?”

“Jump Zero, actually,” Kaidan said as he poured the herb and onion into the pan, and began adjusting the steaks. “There were a couple of classes there. Turns out a biotic kid that didn’t know how risked starving.”

Shepard’s eyes softened at that account. Kaidan had shared his bad experiences at Jump Zero under a tyrannical turian teacher named Vyrnnus some years before. It was a miracle that Kaidan didn’t break at Jump Zero, or worse die like some unfortunate students did. Kaidan had every excuse to let his scars be an excuse from that day forward, but Kaidan rose up to become a new person entirely, and Shepard couldn’t be any more proud of that fact…and couldn’t love Kaidan any more than he already did. “Well, looks like you passed…” Shepard said, but then said. “Whoa, I think the steak’s burning.”

Kaidan looked at the steaks with alarm and hastily flipped them over. Thankfully, the tender steaks weren’t singed badly. “Sorry about that.” Kaidan glanced back at Shepard. “I guess I’m a bit distracted.”

Shepard smiled knowingly. “By?”

Kaidan returned the smile. “I wonder…”

Several seconds passed in silence between the two soldiers. Shepard could see every detail in Kaidan’s face, even the scar where Vyrnnus had stabbed him back at Jump Zero. Not for the first time did Shepard wonder how lucky he was to finally find love with Kaidan. He became increasingly aware of the bulge in his pocket that signified his love for him, and almost pulled it out in front of Kaidan at that moment. He reconsidered that quickly as the poor steaks probably couldn’t handle a distraction of that magnitude. 

Shepard smiled as he brushed Kaidan’s cheek tenderly with his rough hands. “When was the last time I told you I loved you?”

Kaidan didn’t move briefly. “Well…I don’t know,” he said smiling. “I guess I forgot.”

“Well, I do. I love you…so much, Kaidan.”

Kaidan raised a hand to Shepard’s cheek. “I love you too, Shepard. More than I can ever say.”

Kaidan looked away—although he didn’t want to—to tend to the steaks. It wouldn’t be long now before they were done, and he wanted them perfect. Shepard came closer and put and arm around Kaidan’s shoulders, and looked at the steaks. “So…hot sauce?”

A couple hours later, Kaidan and Shepard sat on the couch in front of the holographic fireplace, soaking up the heat contently as they enjoyed each other’s embrace. The steaks were sitting quite comfortably in their stomachs, radiating their warmth throughout their respective bodies. They were so in love with each other that they felt like they could melt into each other at any moment, and either one would have loved it.

Kaidan let his head rest against Shepard’s shoulder. “Well…that was great…” 

Shepard leaned his head against Kaidan’s hair, enjoying how it felt against his scalp. “Well…I’m still waiting for the botulism to kick in.”

Kaidan started laughing. “Hey, now, I thought I was pretty good.”

“Yeah, I’m just messing with you, K.” Shepard’s eyes darted to his right side were Kaidan was. “Can I call you ‘K?’”

Kaidan snorted. “No.”

“I didn’t think so. You’re too sensitive for that.”

“Or…maybe you’re just being an ass.”

Shepard rose his head up to look at Kaidan, his brow sinking. “Major? Did you just call your CO an ass?”

Now Kaidan rose up to look at Shepard, his brow furrowing. “No, I’m calling my boyfriend an ass. Now who’s sensitive?”

Shepard chuckled at the reversal. “Well, don’t worry, it was more than pretty good. It was great.”

Kaidan smiled as he leaned back into Shepard’s shoulder and watched the faux flames flicker. “Well, thank you, Shepard. I like to think I’m an enigma. I got skills, after all.”

Shepard continued to look at Kaidan, amused at Kaidan’s self-glorification. 

“No, I mean it,” Kaidan continued. “For example: fistfight, me and James. I’d win, right?”

One of Shepard’s eyebrows shot up. 

“Well…maybe if I fought dirty.”

“Uh-huh,” Shepard finally answered. “And I suppose that would mean biotics?”

“Hey, I said fistfight!” 

“Yeah, so?”

Kaidan started chuckling. “Yeah, yeah, make fun of me.”

Shepard shrugged. “Well, seriously, you did great tonight. Thank you. This beat going out tonight.”

“See? I knew you would like it.”

“That I did…” Shepard squeezed Kaidan’s shoulder affectionately. 

“Yep, it was so great…”

“What?” Shepard looked back at Kaidan. “Is it over?”

Kaidan rose back up to look at Shepard. “Well, what do you have in mind?”

Shepard smiled. Damn it, he loved his man so much. “Well, as much as I’d love to burn off those extra calories, I think I like what we’re doing right now.”

Kaidan smiled. “Yeah, well so do I…” Kaidan lay back down against Shepard’s shoulder, and closed his eyes. “Although, I am open to the idea to burning the calories later…”

Shepard chuckled. “I’m sure there will be time for it.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” 

Shepard leaned in and planed a small kiss on Kaidan’s forehead, who moaned quietly in response. Kaidan’s snuggled ever so closely to Shepard, when he suddenly froze. Shepard felt him tense up. “What’s wrong?”

“I think there’s something in your pocket, Shepard.”

Shepard paled. He forgot about the box in his right jacket pocket. “Oh, yeah, sorry about that. Here, sit up a second and let me fix that.” 

As Kaidan leaned up, he expected to see Shepard pull out the offending object, but instead he removed his jacket completely and set it beside the couch. Shepard leaned back against the couch, “There we go.” He looked back at Kaidan who had a strange look on his face. “What?”

“You took off your jacket?” Kaidan asked.

Shepard shrugged. “Well, it was getting kind of warm. I thought I might as well.”

Kaidan didn’t look like he bought it. “Shepard?”

Shepard felt his throat constrict. “What?”

“What’s in your pocket?” 

“It’s nothing important, Kaidan. Just something I needed to get to EDI. She left it here when she went on her shopping spree earlier today.”

Kaidan looked at Shepard with a suspicious look. “Shepard, if there is something you need to learn in life…”

Shepard didn’t dare breathe. 

“…it’s to not hide something from a biotic.” At once, Kaidan’s flesh lit up bright blue as he reached out to the discarded jacket. 

The jacket popped up, covered in the same bright blue aura, startling Shepard. “Kaidan, wait!” 

Kaidan ignored Shepard as the jacket flew into his hands, and he dug his fingers into the conspicuously bulging pocket. His aura dying, he pulled out the velvet box and looked it over. “Is…is this what I think it is?” He heard no response from Shepard. “Shepard?” He looked over and saw Shepard blushing as red as Wrex’s head-plate, his face buried deeply into his face.

Shepard didn’t move. “Well…now you know.”

“Know what?” Kaidan asked.

“It…” Shepard felt his throat constrict as he tried to ebb the panic in his heart. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. “It’s for you…but I was supposed to give it to you.”

“You were supposed to—” Kaidan started to repeat, but then paled as the implications sunk in. His chocolate eyes shot to the velvet box. “You mean…?”

Shepard nodded curtly, his face still buried. 

Kaidan turned the box over in his hands, his fingers beginning to tingle. Trembling, he worked the boxed open and he felt the air in his lungs freeze as he saw what was inside: a band of white gold, decorated simply, bearing a trio of light blue stones in the center band. It was beautiful. “Shepard…”

“Kaidan, I’m so sorry…” Shepard went unglued. “I wanted to do this properly, but…well…you weren’t supposed to—I mean…” Shepard’s thoughts crashed into each other like an old-fashioned train wreck. “Well…with the Reapers here…I thought I might—well—just in case and…” He dared to look over, and saw Kaidan staring at the ring like it captured him in a trance. “I really love you, Kaidan…and I-I want you always...” Shepard winced. “I mean—what I mean to say is…”

Kaidan suddenly turned around and grabbed Shepard’s head with one hand and just mashed his lips against Shepard’s lips. Shepard was shocked briefly, but as he felt Kaidan’s tongue dare to dig deeper into his mouth, he closed his eyes and let his own tongue dance with Kaidan’s. Seconds felt like blissful eternities as they spelled their love towards each other in a romantic dance of tongues.

Finally, Kaidan pulled away, and Shepard could see tears rimming his eyes. “John Shepard, this is probably the best night I ever had. Thank you…”

Shepard felt his lungs quiver as his mind digested Kaidan’s gratitude. He then realized tears were in his own eyes. Slowly, he reached for the ring in Kaidan’s hand and took it wordlessly from Kaidan’s fingers. He then lowered himself to the floor on one knee in front of Kaidan. “Major Kaidan Alenko, would you do me the honor of being my husband, through peace and war, for all eternity?”

Kaidan brought one hand to his mouth, as if trying to keep the tears from pouring through there. Gasping, he said slowly. “I will…Commander John Shepard…most gladly.”

Shepard suddenly felt like his heart grew wings, and he soared into Kaidan’s embrace and wrapped his arms around Kaidan, tears coming at last. “Thank you…thank you…” he whispered. 

“I love you, John,” Kaidan said tearfully. 

“I love you too, Kaidan…and I always will.”

And there they were, melting into each other, for now they were one…for eternity to witness and far beyond.

**Author's Note:**

> This was mainly a teaser to see if I could even attempt a romantic scene. Thoughts are appreciated.


End file.
